19:40

Bird migration

I am reading a wonderful book: Say goodbye to the Cuckoo by Michael McCarthy. It is an elegy to the migrating bird species that, for many reasons, are becoming a rarity.

The story of one took my breath away. The Bartailed Godwit, a wader, breeds in Alaska and winters in New Zealand. It makes the journey of eight thousand miles in one go taking eight days. When the first one is spotted in Christchurch they ring the cathedral bells – as well they should.